Plurals:Although uncountable nouns do not usually take a
plural form, they can when used in a countable sense.

·most countable nouns can be
made plural adding s, or ies (study, studies)

uncountable nouns can't
be made plural at all

nouns used in a
countable sense can be made plural

nouns used in an
uncountable sensecan't have a plural form.

No
Plural

Plural

uncountable
noun

countable
noun

uncountable
Use

countable
use

So far, so
good! That is relatively simple to follow. Concrete objects and
items can be counted, concepts and abstractions cannot. But
unfortunately, this easy distinction does no take into account all nouns.

Understand
that some nouns are both noncount and count.

Sometimes a word that means one
thing as a noncount noun has a slightly different meaning if it also has a
countable version. Remember, then, that the classifications count and noncount
are not absolute.

Time is a good example. When you use this word to mean
the unceasing flow of experience that includes past, present, and future, with
no distinct beginning or end, then time is a noncount noun. Read this example:

Time dragged as Simon sat through yet another boring
chick flick with his girlfriend Roseanne.

Time = noncount because it has no specific beginning
and, for poor Simon, no foreseeable end.

Uncountable
(general) Use

Countable
(specific) Use

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I
have heard about the beauties of the French countryside.

He
likes to eat cake.

He
brought four double-fudge chocolate cakes to the party.

She
has gorgeous hair.

The
detective found several blond hairs on the body of the victim.

Anthropology
is the study of man.

Those
men standing at the coffee machinewere my teachers last year
at school.

When time refers to a specific experience which starts
at a certain moment and ends after a number of countable units [minutes, hours,
days, etc.], then the noun is count. Here is an example:

On his last to Disney World, Joe rode Space Mountain
twenty-seven times.

Times = count because a ride on Space Mountain is a
measurable unit of experience, one that you can clock with a stopwatch.

Countable—concrete
and specific

Uncountable—abstract;
general statement of fact

The
lectures were scheduled once a week during the summer. We went to hear all
eight lectures.

lecture

He
hates lectures.

Kids
can make a lot of different noises. (different kinds of sounds)

noise

Kids
can make a lot of noise. (Kids, generally, make noise, and a lot of it!)

For
Sale: House with 6 rooms and a barn

room

There
wasn’t any room for me on the plane. (room, meaning space)

We
had three great meals at the hotel.

meal

It’s
not healthy to skip meals.

The
MonaLisa is a famous work by DaVinci. There are three other Da
Vinci works in the museum.